Seal
by animeanne
Summary: His face was like a dark shadow that had eclipsed the noon sun overhead. She whispered his name without knowing why, softly like a prayer, “Itachi-sama…”
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

_**Disclaimer**_: _No, I don't own Naruto. -.- I do however own this story line and this little material that I have written._

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_**Seal: **__Prologue_

_**By**__: animeanne_

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Reina Haruno ran as she had never ran before. She skipped from branch to branch flawlessly without any sort of ungraceful stumbling—her training taught her to bear through the pain, to be flawless. Her appearance however, was so far from flawless. Cold sweat dripped from her forehead, tears stained her dirt covered cheeks, clothes were ripped in places where fast kunai and loose branches may have scrapped.

In one trembling arm she grasped a baby closely while the other hand clutched at a large gash in her abdomen where warm blood oozed past her fingers with every pump of her heart. It was a true miracle that she was even standing.

She didn't have much time--the chakra she sensed were quickly descending upon her--which meant 2 things: One: her husband had died under the hands of those two demonic Akatsuki and Two: everything depended solely on her now. It was hard not to grimace at those two rather unpleasant thoughts.

Reina Haruno looked down at the small bundle in her hands--_she _was sleeping and so oblivious to everything; _she_ was the very face of innocence. Reina took a moment to stroke her daughter's hair, it was a light pink color reminiscent of the cherry blossoms that bloomed about her now. It was ironic that the beautiful cherry blossoms terrified Reina so much; they represented all that she could lose in a few moments. Her tiny, helpless, delicate, beautiful daughter was the one and only thing that placated her--she was the one valued token that Reina was willing to give her life for. Everything else was lost. Reina smiled sadly--she knew that she wouldn't be able to raise or love her the way that _they_ had planned together.

There was no more time for regret--_she had to make it there…_ A few thousand meters and they'd have a _chance…_

Quickly, Reina performed a scanning jutsu. The last bit of her chakra perforated from her body in a web-like fashion. The gossamer thin web stretched so far and wide--past solid walls and trees but collided with other chakra which allowed her to pinpoint exactly where her enemies were.

Reina felt the thin strands of chakra penetrate through the woods and thick humid air before suddenly hitting--

_**SHIT**_

She immediately turned and darted--scrambled, knowing no matter what, they were going to catch her.

Three…two…one--

**BAM**

She landed sharply on her back, the wind torn from her throat. She managed to cushion the fall for her child. That was all that mattered to her now.

Her two pursuers descended upon her like a sunset upon the earth. There was no escaping the doom.

It was harder for her to breathe--the fall had cost her--broken ribs and a punctured lung, their presence smothered the air around her. She clutched the baby even more tightly. A slithering voice hissed,

"Where is it?"

She was in no position to call the shots, but Reina Haruno was not one of the most revered female Konoha ninja for nothing; no matter the situation, she was always arrogant. A fault? Perhaps. She smirked.

"If you think you can kill my husband _and _get information from me, you are _severely_ mistaken."

"Now is not the time to be conceited. You give us the _Jinchiruuki _and we will leave you and your baby unscathed. Isn't that a fair trade, dear kunoichi?"

"Sorry, I don't particularly like doing business with murderers."

"Arrogant as always, Reina-_Chan_…has the Second taught you nothing all those years? Pride—no Vanity, in all circumstance is considered a sin."

The voice behind the dark cloak was so familiar to her. To think, one so close to her, one whom she grew up with would be the one to betray her. That was the life of the ninja--she had seen the best and the worst in people; _nothing _was impossible.

She scoffed, "I don't think you, _Akatsuki _as they now call you, of all people, should lecture to me about my sins."

"You mustn't take offense. Oh no, we mean no offense at all. It is only kind _advice _from a friend." He answered mockingly. He paused. "Given our past, Reina, I am willing to compromise…"

" Unfortunately, I _do _take offense, Yamaka-_san_." Reina spat back with the same amount of mockery as he had shown her and added a few ounces of venom. "Did you compromise when you murdered Takeshi? How could you do it? You were like brothers—"

"HE was no brother of mine!" The Akatsuki hissed. There was a certain edge, tightness in his voice that gave the sensation of guilt.

Reina's voice softened only slightly. Perhaps she was tired. "You can turn back, Yamaka. You don't have to—"

"_SILENCE_! Do not call me that! I am no longer what I once was, and I don't intend to go back. There is nothing to be done." He paused. "Give us the eight-tail, and we will let you go." The voice was cold—had Reina not known him for so long, she would not have caught the pleading undertone.

Reina answered softly, apologetically,

"Yamaka… you know that I cannot. It is not wise to expect the impossible."

A pregnant silence filled the air.

"Yamaka! What are you waiting for? Kill this _filth_. You have already been too _kind_." The first Akatsuki hissed.

The one named Yamaka did not move.

The first Akatsuki narrowed his eyes.

He sneered,

"I'll do it then. You were always too _weak_." He took out his kunai ready to lunge but was stopped by a sharp hand movement.

"There is no need. I will do it." Yamaka continued coldly, "You leave me with no choice."

"I never realized I had one to begin with."

The two Akatsuki darted towards her, kunai in their hands. Reina closed her eyes. She had failed--failed miserably to save even the most precious thing to her--if only she could have run just a little further—if only she hadn't paused—

"ARGHHH" Reina's eyes snapped open, she heard a scream and a thud, but it was not her own.

"Mikoto…Fugaku…" So many emotions passed through the Kunoichi as she saw her two old friends and teammates. A dam of emotions broke through her arrogant and stoic exterior. For the first time Reina knew it was okay to be weak. She felt limp with relief.

"Uchiha!" The Akatsuki hissed. They knew it was trouble--not only did they lose the Jinchiruuki, but they also were now confronted by _two_ Uchiha. Two pairs of Sharigan made quite a troublesome team.

"Mikoto, look after Reina. I'll take care of this." The tall man had long onyx colored hair that was tied back with a black ribbon. His two eyes, Sharigan eyes, were the color of blood. His stance and body exhorted a strength and power that could not be defied. For the first time, the Akatsuki could feel a foreign feeling in their throat--an itch that told them that what they felt was fear.

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The young woman, Mikoto ran to the side of her friend,

"Reina!" Mikoto's onyx colored eyes quickly scanned the limp body of her friend and inhaled a sharp breath. "Reina, tell me how to heal you and I'll do it. My Sharigan can copy any technique. If you could just show me…" Her hand grasped her best friend's tightly.

Reina smiled tearfully,

"Mikoto…both of us know it is too late. My chakra is depleted. I only have a few minutes left."

"But…"

"What's important now…" Reina winced. She felt her time shorten. "What is important…is…Sakura. It's sealed _within_ her—"

Mikoto's eyes widened as she glanced at the tiny, harmless, pink-haired baby.

"It can't be…How—"

Reina's hand clasped Mikoto's tightly, the intense look in her sea green eyes looked pleading, desperate.

"They came for it—sealing it took half of both our Chakra. He…he told me to run…I told him I couldn't and wouldn't…but he performed _that_ jutsu…" Tears fell down her cheeks as Kiyoko cradled her head in her arms.

"Mikoto, you must promise me something—"

"anything, Reina."

Reina smiled tenderly, "Promise me you'll take care of Sakura…as you would your own…love her as I would…please. Protect her. She is a cursed child now. But…but…you must….promise me…"

Mikoto's usual calm exterior began to crack, she felt an unusual, and unfamiliar sting behind her eyes as she clasped Reina's bloody hand,

"I promise, my dear friend."

Reina smiled softly, her eyes closing slowly and body becoming cold,

"Thank you…"

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Fugaku watched his eyes dim and threw him aside. _Filth._ The two Akatsuki lie discarded like two broken beer bottles.

He wiped the blood on his forehead away with an odd sense of satisfaction. The fight was long and hard—it gave him adrenaline, a surge of power from his hands—a sense of accomplishment. They _deserved _it—it was just. If Fugaku hated one thing, it was injustice.

The forest was eerily quiet.

"Mikoto."

Her slim body was turned away from him, head bowed, so still. She didn't reply.

"They're gone."

Her voice sounded hollow like when an echo bounces through the mountains only to be greeted with silence.

Fugaku glanced briefly at the prone figure that was once his friend and comrade. _The body was nothing without the soul, trash._ These words seemed to surface within his thoughts. He placed a heavy hand on his wife's shoulder.

"What's done is done. Revenge is taken, their debt is repaid."

Mikoto looked at him sharply.

"Death repays _nothing_."

Fugaku remained still and silent. He did not agree, but now was not the moment to argue.

Mikoto continued softly,

"The eight-tail is inside _her_._"_ She scooped up the sleeping baby into her arms, and held her tightly.

"Impossible." Fugaku watched the pink-haired baby. Her eyes closed in innocent sleep, a drip of drool at the corner of her lips. Nothing could ever look so harmless.

Mikoto shifted the baby's position in her arms, and folded over the blanket to reveal an oddly shaped black seal at the center of her upper back. It looked like an ugly blemish on the baby's pale pink skin.

Fugaku's eyes widened only slightly. That explained why they couldn't get away. A jutsu like that would have depleted their chakra.

"We have to kill it—"

"Fugaku" Mikoto's voice was sharp, cutting through the air. "That is not an option we have—"

"We cannot let it live. An eight-tail—do you know the risks of that, Mikoto? When it is released, half of Konoha will be destroyed—"

"It won't be released." Mikoto stated. "We'll keep it sealed forever. _Sakura_, will be sealed within our household forever. No one will find her, no one will know her, no one will come for her…or it. We will become her protectors."

Fugaku opened his mouth to protest.

"We must raise her as our own. It was her last wish." There was the quality of quiet determination in her voice, the kind in which Fugaku knew nothing could persuade her otherwise.

Fugaku sighed. _Women._ Their argument had awoken the baby—her face scrunched up in a small frown. She shifted a few times before slowly opening her eyes—sea-foam green. Fugaku leaned in slightly. Her resemblance to Reina was uncanny.

The baby blinked a few times, her sea-foam green eyes rested placidly, mysteriously, blankly—as if reserving judgement on Fugaku.

She raised her arm slightly, and then as if putting all her energy in a spurt of movement, her small fist bumped into Fugaku's forehead, tapping it lightly in an accidental bop. Her lips dissolved into a smile as she gave a gurgle of laughter.

Mikoto gave a soft smile, as the cherry blossoms bloomed widely about them.

_**End of Prologue**_

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_**Author's Note: **_I'm excited to see what you all think:D This is my first fanfic in agessssss...3-5 years? _geez_. -- give this old geezer some encouragement by reviewing would ya?


	2. Chapter 2: Caged Bird

_**Disclaimer:** No, I don't own Naruto. -.- I do however own this story line and this little material that I have written._

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_**Seal**_

_**Chapter One**_: _Caged Bird_

_**By**_: _animeanne_

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On the surface, Sakura Haruno did not look like your average spoiled brat. And in some ways, she was not. She didn't yell, raise her voice even, or tug, or pull, or cry like kids her age usually did to get what they wanted. She didn't respond harshly when the servants would gossip about her behind her back—saying cruel things that somehow by chance, she'd always overhear.

_She's not really a Uchiha—why should we treat her like one?_

_She's abandoned. No one here really wants her here._

_Will you just look at her hair? It's such a ridiculous color. Bet she got it from her whore of a mother. And look at how __**she**__ ended up._

_She walks like she's better than all of us, but we all know that she's just like us. Why else would they always send her to the back of the courtyard to work when guests come? They're __**ashamed**__ of her._

On the surface, Sakura was a mountain—blank, strong, and calm. The Uchiha household had taught her to be that way. She ignored what she could ignore and when she couldn't ignore them, she got _even_.

Sakura had very delicate features, a heart shaped face, a sharp chin, a figure that was too thin for even a girl her age—bony and jagged. She was tall for her age, stood about the same height as Sasuke-san, but was well diminished when standing next to the other three Uchihas—Mikoto-san, Itachi-san, and Fugaku-san.

When she walked, her back was so straight, her neck long and elegant; she had poise that was beyond her age. You grew up faster walking within these Uchiha walls.

She always walked quickly and quietly through the house as if she never wanted to be seen. She didn't do it on purpose, but rather it was a long practiced habit—she knew Fukashi wouldn't want to be disturbed. There was always something about him that frightened her.

When she was outside, she liked to run—as fast as she could, through the long grass, hearing the thumps and thuds of her footsteps, feeling the wind through her long pink hair, and feeling as though she could fly away.

No, on the surface, Sakura didn't appear to be a spoiled child at all. It wasn't until you gazed into her sea-foam eyes that you began to understand how anyone could see her as a brat. Her eyes shone with a kind of untamable fury—a primal wildness. Though her posture and movements indicated a perfected grace and delicacy, when you looked into her eyes you could see behind them that there was a force waiting to be released—a fuse waiting to be lit.

She got what she wanted in subtle ways—subtlety was a Uchiha trait. She learned to do things quietly, without being seen. She never got angry, per se—she just got even. When she heard one of the servants saying nasty things, the only hint of her fury was contained in her eyes. A spark, and then gone.

Most of the time, nothing happened. Occasionally though, something did. Perhaps a flowering bruise would appear on the servant's cheek. When asked what happened, she would say in a somewhat tremulous voice that it was nothing, just _accidentally_ tripped and fell on her face. Or perhaps jewelry from Mikoto's box would be found under that servant's pillow. They would always deny it:

_I don't know how it got there! I didn't take it!_

_Well it sure didn't crawl there under your pillow all by yourself did it?_

Most of the time, they were asked to pack their bags and leave by the next morning. Stealing would not be tolerated under the Uchiha rule.

So even though the servants gossiped—they kept it in whispers—only the stupid ones were loud enough to be overheard.

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"I'm tellin' you, it was that Haruno brat again!"

"That's absurd, that little weakling? She couldn't hurt a fly even if she wanted to, much less kick _that_ bitch out of this house. You have to admit, Hatsu was one tough bitch, if I've ever met one. That Haruno brat would stand no chance against her."

The two servant women were bent over in the laundry room scrubbing the heavy, white bed sheets on scrubbing boards. Their hair was tied and wrapped up in cloths, and their hands were red and raw from scrubbing for so long.

The elder, plumper woman replied,

"I ain't sayin' Hatsu didn't deserve it with all the trouble she's been causin'. That Hatsu, spreadin' all the rumors about everyone, and slappin' around all the new girls like a cow herder. But I ain't fallin' for that weak lil helpless face that Haruno brat goes aroun' givin' everybody. 's all I'm sayin'."

The middle aged woman said,

"I think your overestimating that ten year old. Did you see how frightened she was when ever she saw Hatsu?"

"I'm tellin' you. 'S all a front. You betta be careful 'round that girl. There's jus' somethin' about her. She gets this funny look in her eyes…"

A soft voice suddenly interrupted,

"Amako, do you have any laundry for me to dry?" Speak of the little devil. Both women turned sharply to see the pink-haired monster standing innocently before them.

"U-Uh there's the basket o'er there, Sakura-san." Amako, the elder woman replied as she pointed at a pile of laundry that needed to be hung. She inclined her head slightly as a small bow of respect.

"Gomen nasai, Amako." Sakura said quietly before carrying the heavy basket of laundry and walking up the stairs and into the back courtyard. She smiled slightly—if it could be called that, a mere tilt of the lips, when she saw the two servant women shooting each other uneasy looks.

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It was warm outside. How long had it been since she had gotten to feel this wind on her skin?

She rarely got to go outside. Mikoto always told her to stay within these stone walls, to be careful, don't talk to strangers, don't stay out for too long—someone might spot you. And for this reason, Sakura was unusually and unhealthily pale.

Sakura carried the laundry basket to the back courtyard where the laundry lines stretched. One end of the laundry line was tethered to a high branch of the oak tree while the other end was tied to the top of the white washed wall of the house. If Sakura stood on her tiptoes and stretched her arm as high as possible, the line was still about a few feet out of her reach.

She had run into this problem last time too. Mikoto had not realized that she set the young pink-haired girl to an impossible task—but she had seemed in such a hurry to get Sakura in the back courtyard when the guests came that she did not notice.

Sakura walked toward the tall oak tree. She carried the basket in one arm as she concentrated all her _chakra_ to her feet. She felt the familiar tingling in her body as the warm energy traveled from her stomach to legs to ankles and then to the pads of her feet leaving a distinct kind of warmth welling there.

She placed her foot on the root of the oak tree, concentrating all her energy on the bottom foot—feeling her own warm _chakra_ melding with the tree's cooler _chakra._ She took one step after another up the tree, until she found herself completely parallel to the ground. She took a few deep breaths before continuing as she felt a few sweat beads forming on the back of her neck.

Sakura swayed slightly with the load of laundry in her hand as she walked on the thin laundry line. From a distance though, she looked like a graceful tightrope walker, adjusting her center of balance when she hung each piece of fresh laundry on the line.

It had taken her a while to meld her own chakra perfectly, and even now she had trouble doing it for so long. If only Itachi-san could have taught her a little more. Sakura learned all she knew from the glimpses she caught when she saw Itachi-san training Sasuke in the open courtyard. She had once asked Mikoto if she could learn—after all, from what Sakura saw, the arts of the ninja were beautiful, graceful, and powerful and in an innate way she felt a strong inner drawing—hunger, towards that power.

Though Sakura saw a tinge of regret on Mikoto's face, before she shook her head, refusing consent, Sakura couldn't help but feel a little hateful towards her mother—why did she feel like a bird in a gilded golden cage so often?

So Sakura broke the rules. Well, not entirely, at least in her own opinion. So she peeked in occasionally on Sasuke's lessons—it wasn't as if Itachi-san were actually teaching her.

She had seen Itachi-san teaching Sasuke to climb the tree by drawing chakra to his feet. What Sakura had the most trouble with in the beginning was actually drawing all her chakra. It was as if her chakra were flowing so scarcely through her veins that she couldn't even find enough to draw. Sasuke, on the other hand, had trouble with simply manipulating his chakra to certain areas and controlling his ample supply of his energy to the right places. This, Sakura had no trouble with—she found manipulation quite easy, and therefore she was proud to note that she learned the first lesson much faster than Sasuke, climbing to the tip of the oak tree where she found she had a unprecedented view of the Uchiha household.

So, when she hung the laundry on a laundry line that was too tall for her, she found that it was much easier (and of course more fun) for the ten year old to apply what she learned secretly. The trouble did come though, when she attempted to balance on the thin laundry line—Sakura was light, but not weightless. The line would sink from the pressure and since the line was not a living thing like the tree nor was it a flat surface, her chakra did not meld with line successfully and therefore caused Sakura's feet to wobble uncontrollably and for her arms to flap to no avail before she dropped ungracefully to the grass like an awkward turtle on its back.

For a while, Sakura took these falls without being discouraged from her course of action before finally, with dirt and grass stains on her normally pristine white kimono and a sweaty brow, two brilliant ideas came to her: One, she would make herself weightless—or at least as close to it as possible—she would force her own chakra to push her own feet upward. And two, she would manipulate her chakra_ around_ the wire so that it would meld with her _own_ chakra. _Brilliant_. She thought.

The theory was _much_ easier than in practice. To manipulate _strands_ of chakra was easier said than done—especially for a ten year old who had no one to help her. However, Sakura practiced. Hard. She divided the chakra on one foot into two pieces—then four, then eight, then sixteen, and finally thirty-two thin strands. She stepped onto the wire and melded all the strands around the wire and tested her balance. Many of her test runs failed—she crumpled to the ground—leaving purple bruises on her arms, knees, hips and even one on her cheek.

"_Sakura, what happened to your cheek dear?"_

"_an acorn fell from the tree where I was hanging the laundry" Not a blink of her sea-foam eyes to belie her innocent façade._

"_an acorn?" very dubious tone of voice._

"_yes, an acorn. The squirrels in the oak tree seemed to be grumpier than usual today, I suppose."_

_A raised arch of a skeptical brow._

And at last when she was finally able to balance successfully as to not even allow a wobble in her step, she was so surprised that she instantly lost all concentration and fell to the familiar ground in a heavy thump.

The sudden memory brought a genuine smile to Sakura's lips.

She sighed in satisfaction as she dropped the empty laundry basket to the ground. The gentle spring wind blew her pink hair into her face—she closed her eyes, angling her face toward the sun that warmed her cheeks, listening to the sound of occasional bird song and of tree leaves shifting, breathing in the open air--she felt filled to the brim.

But the sensation was only there for a few seconds before Sakura suddenly felt herself sinking—her chakra was at her limit. Her eyes snapped open—everything was too bright—she felt her feet collapsing—there was no use for flapping arms, she braced herself for the familiar fall—it would only hurt a little before she would just get up and try again later—a blur—

But the fall didn't come, neither did the pain. Instead she found that she was held in a pair of strong arms, and a pair of blood-red sharingan eyes were gazing down at her intently. His face was like a dark shadow that had eclipsed the noon sun overhead.

She whispered his name without knowing why, softly like a prayer,

"Itachi-san…"

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**AN**: don't call me evil for ending it there. :D I hope this chapter wasn't too boring—I feel like I needed to fill the readers in on Sakura and who she is and the background of where she is and what she lives like. If you haven't noticed, yes, this is going to be a long, slow, fic... Hopefully long since I'm not really sure how long I'll be amused with writing this...but so far I'm enjoying writing it! Anyway! Please please review, because I really love getting feedback, and because I will be a lot more motivated and therefore will update faster if you do! Which reminds me, THANK YOU FOR ALL THOSE WHO REVIEWED FOR THE LAST CHAPTER!! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOMEEEE! I'm always amazed by people who read and review first chapters—I never have the patience to read or review on works in progresses because I like the satisfaction of knowing what happens next or at least until the 10th-ish chapter. What can I say, I'm cheap… Anyway, coffee and cookies for all!

THANK YOU: **crazyevilgirl, bloodyhellanothername, Sakura Rei Yuki, numberoneklutz, Friesenator, won't be the Victim, kittyciao, SweetAssassin, les-liasons-dangereuses, Staring.out.my.flooded.window, and Trinity Blood Fox.**


	3. Chapter 3: The Name of Uchiha

_**Disclaimer**_: _No, I don't own Naruto. I do however, own this little material and original ideas that I have generated._

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_**Seal**_

**_Chapter Two:_** _The Name of Uchiha _

_**By:** animeanne_

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Not many things that went on in the Uchiha household ever got past the eldest Uchiha brother, or rather his sharp perception.

It helped that he had blood red sharingan eyes that saw each particle of chakra, each flittering illusion thrown his way, each movement as small and slight as a leaf rustling on a distant branch, and each change in expression on the human face—which innately made himself more aware of his own expressions, and when needed, he could make his own face so blank that if Itachi Uchiha had, on a whim, decided to become a poker player, he would have made a damn good one.

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At the age of nineteen, there were many things he saw that he wished he didn't. He didn't want to bear the heavy burden of seeing and knowing everything because it made him feel too old.

He saw each crinkle at the corner of an eye that indicated a precursor to laughter; he saw the extra moisture that would always come before tears fell.

He saw how Kiyoko stopped smiling as much, how her smile waned as if it took too much effort now, and how she stared off into space searching for a distant place…or perhaps time. He saw Fukashi's cold and blank face, and occasionally the spark of fury in his eyes.

He saw his father's silhouette in moonlight frequently. Missing dinner and coming home late—he would always slip in silently.

Itachi saw his parent's love disappear—slowly, subtly—how they avoided each other's gazes, how they never argued but never spoke to each other past common courtesies, how they sat across from each other every day but didn't seem to know of the other's existence, each far away in a world of their own secrets.

He saw how their closest intimacy had faded into the indifference of strangers. How did this happen? He couldn't, for the life of him, remember.

Itachi Uchiha, the eldest Uchiha, the heir to all the Uchiha fortunes, and the sole bearer of many unfortunate burdens was quite observant—perhaps too much so.

No one could deny the fact that Itachi Uchiha didn't miss much.

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So, when Itachi had walked into the back courtyard as usual, for his daily stroll, he had been understatedly surprised when he saw Sakura balancing quite flawlessly on a thin laundry wire while using a rather complex piece of chakra manipulation technique.

The laundry line didn't sink—was she using her own chakra to push herself upwards? _Interesting._ How many strands of chakra was she using, exactly? Had Sasuke taught her this? No, it can't be. Sasuke isn't this good at chakra manipulation just yet.

Before Itachi could analyze any longer, he saw Sakura's chakra reserves hit rock bottom. The chakra at her feet suddenly disappeared before her legs collapsed beneath her and she began to fall.

It was instinct—Itachi felt his feet start to move even before he had the thought to catch her. She landed in a heap in his arms, her body tense, bracing for a fall that didn't come.

She opened her sea-foam eyes, stared for a few moments before recognition.

"Itachi-san…"

Itachi set her down gently, an arm around her back until she steadied and regained her balance.

Itachi's dark eyes pierced into Sakura's lighter ones. He didn't need to look too deeply to recognize the emotions of guilt, modest pride, and perhaps fear that swam in her eyes.

She spoke first, hurriedly—

"Mikoto-sama, er, toldmetodrythelaundry." She pointed feebly at the innocent laundry swaying with the wind as if it was all the laundry's fault that she was caught in this situation.

There were few things that unnerved Sakura more than the blood red sharingan eyes that made her feel so overexposed.

As if sensing her uneasiness, Itachi slowly changed his eyes back to its usual obsidian color, so dark that sometimes Sakura confused them with the deepest blue. The slight tilt in his lips broke the tension,

"I can see that. Quite a creative way you've thought up in that little head of yours." He bent down so that he was eye-level with the pink-haired girl before nudging her forehead playfully with his cool, long fingers.

Sakura's eyes instantly brightened and lost all its wariness as she saw the slight twinkle in Itachi's eyes.

She grinned mischievously,

"Can you keep a secret Itachi-san?"

"Of course." His smile was lopsided, dimpled, amused.

Sakura instantly turned serious, her eyes searching into Itachi's, as if judging if he was worthy of her secret.

Sometimes Itachi had to remind himself that he was dealing with a 12 year old; she could be formidable with that lucid, intelligent gaze of hers. The intent gaze and seriousness on her face was so uncommon on one so young that it made him want to laugh out loud if not for his own curiosity.

"You have to promise…not to tell…Mikoto-sama." She lowered her eyes for a moment giving away how guilty she felt. "I don't know what she would do if she found out." Sakura shuddered slightly in distaste.

The key was to sympathize—equate the same emotion you saw in the other, in yourself. Itachi looked Sakura straight in the eye and replied with an equal amount of seriousness,

"I promise."

Those simple words were somehow the right words—the password that it took to grant access to her heart.

Sakura took a deep breath and gave a genuine smile.

"Okay."

The pair began to head toward the house—it was almost time for dinner. The afternoon sun shone brightly upon them as Sakura explained.

"I saw Itachi-san training Sasuke-san once. I think it was in one of the back courtyards." Here Sakura glanced quickly at Itachi. "I didn't mean to spy on you. I really didn't. But I was so mesmerized by it, I couldn't help watching."

Itachi nodded in encouragement.

"I watched you teach him how to draw chakra from your body, I watched you teach him move it around, and how to manipulate it. And I wanted to learn. So badly." Sakura paused.

"And I can see that you did learn." Itachi smiled encouragingly.

But this seemed to make Sakura even more wary. She didn't know why it was so important to her that she never lost Itachi's approval—she didn't know why his opinion mattered to her more than almost anyone else's. Perhaps if she were telling anyone else, she'd feel less guilty. She continued,

"I asked Mikoto-sama if I could learn. I should have expected that her answer was a no, but I just couldn't help but feel so angry at her. It wasn't fair. I've never wanted anything, and the one thing I could have asked for—that I wanted—she dismissed it as if it were nothing. I just don't understand why she has to keep me from _everything_!" She sighed and lowered her voice. "So I secretly watched you and Sasuke sometimes and learned."

Itachi furrowed his eyebrows.

"But I haven't taught Sasuke any of the technique that you were using before. As talented as my brother may be or think he may be, he can scarcely climb a tree yet. His greatest weakness as in most boys, is in chakra manipulation.

Sakura's eyes sparkled as she beamed rather proudly.

"Once I got the basics of what you taught Sasuke, the rest just came to me easily."

Itachi's eyes widened only slightly.

"So you figured how to do all that on your own?"

"Well, yes. It just sort of made sense to me. But believe me, it took me _a lot_ of practice. _And_ I have the bruises to prove it." Sakura said as she beamed slightly proudly when pointing to the bruises on her knees.

Itachi studied Sakura for a moment. Was it him or did she look more tired recently? She was leaning on one leg more than the other, sprained ankle perhaps? He noticed how the clothes she wore barely covered her purple, blue knees. Was she thinner? How could he not have noticed before?

Those S-class missions, those exams, those lessons he taught Sasuke, those grave words his father had said to him had been all Itachi had on his mind for the past weeks, months, perhaps, an _eternity_.

He felt an uncomfortable sadness and guilt when he saw Sakura smile the way she did—so carefree and simply content with what little resources she did have.

It bothered him how no one had paid attention to those blooming bruises, how no one had time to really care if she ate more or less, how no one had the time to even listen to her dreams.

He pushed these thoughts aside as he smiled at her the best way he could and suddenly picked her up so that she was sitting comfortably on his back.

"Well, we can't let you walk around with all those bruises that you've gotten with your recklessness." Itachi said playfully.

Sakura laughed as the duo headed happily toward the house for dinner.

On the way, Sasuke ran excitedly to greet them, his eyes shining with a letter in hand.

"I'm going to be trained by the great Hatake Kakashi! Can you believe it? He might even be better than you Oni-chan!"

Itachi smiled at Sasuke's excitement. Hatake Kakashi was one of the few ninjas that Itachi respected, one of the few that would be a worthy sensei for an Uchiha.

Sasuke continued, "one day I'll be as good as you brother, and maybe even surpass you."

Itachi laughed out loud this time, "We're a long ways away from that, I assure you."

"Yea, Sasuke, you can't even climb a tree yet, without falling on your butt." Sakura added curtly.

Sasuke's frowned deeply, "Yea well, you can't even walk a few meters before you trip over your big feet."

"What! Well I'd rather have big feet than be too short for my age!" Sakura responded while sticking out her tongue.

"I am NOT short for my age, squirt!" Sasuke answered angrily.

"You are too!"

"AM not!"

"Are—"

Itachi smiled inwardly at their bantering. It was always like this with those two.

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Mikoto scooped the freshly steamed rice into a wooden bowl, and stirred in the rice vinegar.

She gently mixed in the salt and sugar—careful not to break the rice grains. She took a small taste—slightly _bittersweet_, like a lingering memory on her tongue.

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They had always been betrothed—she and Fugaku—a destiny sealed before they could even walk. They'd always known each other, and within the family, as second cousins, none could compare to their closeness.

After all, who could relate more than family? They'd gone through the same expectations—to raise the Uchiha name, to make it even more revered, more _feared_, because fear was the root to all power.

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There was nothing that Uchihas did not do to maintain that power. Other famous families had jewels, had talisman perhaps, but the most valuable Uchiha asset was the Sharingan. And like all other family heirlooms, the Sharingan was always cherished and passed down into the next generation.

For a while this had been no problem, generations of Uchiha had married outside his own clan and had been able to produce heirs with Sharingan. However, their line was beginning to diminish, each generation had become weaker and weaker. Some did not even retain their most valued trait anymore. That was when the Uchiha leaders began to worry. We must protect our line, they said. We must protect the Sharingan. None will marry outside the clan for two generations.

And that was also the night that the elders decided the marriage between Mikoto and Fugaku would be consummated.

All within the family could be sacrificed for fame, for honor, and Mikoto and Fugaku were only two rather helpless pawns on a chessboard of ruthless kings.

Mikoto had always loved him more than she was supposed to.

She should have been happy when their betrothal was announced publicly, but she wasn't. Not even an ounce, because of how he reacted. There was no disgust, but there was no joy. She knew her own love for him would never be reciprocated. For her, it would be all give and no take. What did she have to hope for?

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She sighed, as she cooked. The smoked salmon, natto, and oyakodon that were to go on top of the sweet rice. She set aside the rice that she would use to make onigiri early tomorrow morning in packing Sasuke's lunch for his first day of training with the famous Hatake Kakashi.

All was ready for dinner. She looked through the window pane and spotted the figures of Itachi, Sasuke, and Sakura walking home. She smiled softly at the trio, so closely knit, like nothing would ever break them apart.

But it also reminded her of the person she yearned for the most. The one who would not return until night fell, when he would quietly slip through the rice-papered doors, ignorant of her silent tears for him.

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AN: Sorry for the wait! Thank you so much for all those who reviewed!


	4. Chapter 4: A Promise

**_Disclaimer_**: _No, I don't own Naruto. -.- I do however own this story line and this little material that I have written._

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_**Author's Note:**_ Thank you guys so much for the wonderful reviews. A lot of them were really helpful, as I have gone back and made some of the suggested changes. I love hearing from you, and especially what you liked or didn't like about it. please please continue to review because it makes the whole writing experience so much more rewarding. :D Simply adding it to your alert list is also well appreciated but your comments, encouragement, and even flames are more valuable to me. so click the review button and leave a little blurb!

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**_Seal_**

**_Chapter 3_**: _A Promise _

**_By_**_: animeanne_

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It was barely dawn when Sakura rose to help Mikoto make Sasuke's bento lunch. The morning was cold and grey as the mother and daughter worked side by side. Only a single strand of golden light dividing earth and sky foretold of the brilliant day that it would become.

By the time Sasuke rose excitedly only a little while later, the day had already grown warmer. He picked up his lunch, swung his bag over his shoulder, and threw a rather smug remark over his shoulder,

"Don't wait up for me for dinner. I'm going to train as hard as I can to become better than Itachi-san." And with a confident wave, he was gone.

Sakura scoffed slightly, but was sad to see him go. No matter how annoying Sasuke could be sometimes, it didn't change the fact that he was Sakura's closest companion.

The lack of remorse on his face when he left her, made her want to scream at him. But she stubbornly bit her lip, and refused to miss him.

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Days and weeks passed, Sakura continued her work around the house while Sasuke continued his studies. He seemed to be learning so much, progressing so far, working towards a goal, a dream so large that Sakura couldn't even begin to grasp.

He even seemed to have less time to tease her. She didn't mind, she told herself; she could do without that brat in her life for a little while. But one part of her missed his teasing, and with Mikoto-san more forlorn than ever, and Itachi-san on some ANBU mission in the distant lands, it was hard to not feel lonely in a house so large.

She sighed, walking on laundry wire became easier and easier now—the chakra was easier to divide and mold, and truth be told, Sakura was bored.

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Sasuke had just returned from school, one day. He put down his bag by a small lake at the center of the Uchiha establishment. Sakura watched him slowly and cautiously step onto the lake _without sinking_. His steps seemed unsure at first as he walked gently on the breakable surface of the pond. Then his steps became quicker, as he broke into a run—he beamed delightedly.

Sakura looked on in wonder. How was he doing that? She wanted to learn.

"SASUKE!" She bellowed suddenly—which was quite loud for a girl her size and stature, once she got close enough to scare the living daylights out of her poor brother.

"GYAHH" Sasuke's concentration completely broke for only a moment, but the damage was done—he collapsed into the pond, his clothes completely drenched. The look on his face resembled that of a wet cat that was just forced to take a bath.

Sakura broke into uncontainable laughter, until Sasuke stomped angrily out of the water and broke into a rather fake, plastered, wide grin before saying through clenched teeth,

"My dear _sister_, come to your brother and give him a hug." His arms were outstretched, dripping with pond water, ready to clamp down on its next victim.

Sakura's green eyes widened as she turned around in attempt to run away, "OH NOO…."

Sasuke then proceeded to hug her tightly around the back, and all the cold water from the pond drenched through Sakura's thin, white silk robe.

Sasuke smiled smugly at his handiwork, as she watched Sakura fume,

"Why YOU little! This robe is NEW, you thick-skulled twit!!" The anger in her glare did make Sasuke somewhat thankful that looks indeed could not kill.

Sakura had a pretty image of wringing Sasuke's neck when Sasuke exclaimed,

"Hey! What is that ugly black thing on your back??" The curiosity in Sasuke's eyes was genuine. His gaze fell on where the smelly pond water had bled through her kimono, sticking to her skin on her upper back.

The translucent white material revealed a circular eight-pronged pattern. Sakura looked briefly to where Sasuke was glancing.

"Oh that? I've had that ever since I was born. Mikoto-san told me that it's like my family seal or something. Sort of like the Uchiha fan." Sakura beamed proudly.

"Oh…" Sasuke said, looking somewhat puzzled. He had thought the marking looked kind of like a jutsu seal that Kakashi-sensei had briefly introduced to him today.

"Anyway, Sasuke, teach me what you were doing before."

Sasuke sniffed smugly, "why should I?"

Sakura's eyes lit up mischieviously, "because I bet I can do it better than you."

"HAHAHA, yea right. You're a _girl_, and you've never even had any training before."

Sakura had him trapped, she knew just how to push Sasuke's buttons,

"You're just _afraid_ that I might beat you at something." She punctuated her sentence with a challenging look in her eyes. If there was one thing that Sasuke could not let go of, it was a challenge.

"What! Okay fine, I'll teach you. But don't cry to me, when you fall into the water and drown."

Sasuke took a deep breath and stepped onto the water with one foot. "You see, for this, you have to have a lot of chakra control. It's not like the climbing a tree—that's easy compared to this. But you don't even know how to do _that._ For walking on water, you have to be constantly releasing a _little_ bit of chakra each step. But you don't even know what chakra—"

Sakura listened intently. That makes sense… it was just constantly pushing a little bit against the water… She cut Sasuke off,

"But how much is a little bit?"

"Well that's for you to test out. If you can even manage to gather your chakra to your feet first."

With those careless words, Sasuke took off, gliding beautifully across the lake—it had taken him days to realize how to control it correctly—but amongst his classmates he was the fastest to learn—amongst them, he was a genius.

Meanwhile, Sakura clumsily stepped onto the water, her legs sinking into the water a little bit, but with each step, she improved a bit more, getting closer and closer to the surface, experimenting with how much chakra to push against the water.

Slowly but surely, she finally managed to step onto the surface without sinking, and only creating small ripples from her steps.

She grinned slightly and without any meaning of startling Sasuke yelled across the lake,

"Sasuke! Am I doing this correctly?"

And while Sasuke was not startled by her voice, when he turned around and saw Sakura standing serenely on top of the water, he clumsily gave a yelp as he fell into the lake for the second time today.

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Night had fallen, and all around the Uchiha establishment was silent except two men sitting under the full moon.

"That's my boy." Fugaku said as he patted Itachi on his back. It was the highest compliment Fugaku ever bestowed on anyone. "Joining the ANBU black ops was a good decision, my boy. You know how complicated the relationship of the Uchiha clan and Konoha can get; this may serve to lessen the tensions a bit."

"Yes, father." As usual, he had passed the test with flying colors. Itachi was the perfect Uchiha with the perfect scores.

"But you know that the clan has bigger plans for you, Itachi. The elders know that the Uchiha clan has been declining in power for some time now. Few clan members have mastered the sharingan like they used to."

"There's no need for that anymore. We're no longer at war like we used to be."

Fugaku burst into cynical laughter, "For someone who's a genius, Itachi, you can be so blind sometimes. Don't you see the suspicious glances when an Uchiha enters the village? Some look at us with hate, some with jealousy. Yet most of our clan risk their lives in the Konoha police force for the safety of a village that we cannot even afford to call home."

Fugaku poured a cup of sake for himself, downed it in one gulp and continued,

"Our clan has weakened since the end of the war. We haven't seen the appearance of the _Mangekyo _in a long number of years."

Itachi's eyes widened slightly at that but said, "No, not since that crazy man, Uchiha Madara was here."

Fugaku looked sharply at Itachi. "Uchiha Madara was your family _ancestor_. He may have been branded a radical man, but we can't dismiss all he's done for our clan."

"Perhaps if I believed that the ends justify the means, then perhaps I would believe Uchiha Madara a hero. Otherwise, I cannot see him as anything other than a beast, starving for more power."

"Power is all we can strive to achieve in this world." Fugaku studied his son intently in silence before continuing, "You know why we've let you become part of the black ops don't you?"

Itachi looked into his father's eyes before slowly nodding. He had long suspected that the only reason Fugaku had let him join the ANBU was to become a _spy_ for Uchiha.

"Then you know that the struggle of peace between Uchiha and Konoha has been long and hard." For the first time this evening, there was a hint of anger in Fugaku's voice, "The Uchiha were and are meant to be _kings_. But who are we now but the dogs to the Konohagakure and its hokage?"

"Father, what need do we have for power, when we finally have peace? Aside from Sasuke and Sakura, every Uchiha remembers what it was like to have war ravage through our villages—meaningless killings where even women and children were not spared. How can we forget that in our pursuit of power? That there is nothing that justifies killing?"

Fugaku was silent for a few moments. How unlike an Uchiha, Itachi was. How can he have no ambition, no honor? A talent like his would go to waste with such narrow dreams.

When would he be able to tell his son the imminent role he would play in restoring Uchiha power in Konoha? Now was not the time.

"Now is not the time for such seriousness. Let's just enjoy your induction into the black ops."

Fugaku's face lit with the first genuine smile of the day. Everything aside, he was so proud of his son. He poured a cup of sake for Itachi and then for himself. They clinked the cups,

"To Uchiha."

Itachi echoed, "To Uchiha."

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What a strange night it had been for Itachi. He couldn't fully comprehend what his father had been trying to tell him—there seemed more behind his eyes than he had told him.

He then left for one of the local pubs in Konoha to celebrate with Shisui, and even though the atmosphere of the pub had been warm and easy, he couldn't find it in him to celebrate.

Ten drinks and five celebratory speeches later however, Shisui had been drunkenly ushered out of the pub by a rather curvy blonde, and Shisui, with a mischievious-I'm-going-to-have-some-fun sort of wink, left Itachi by himself at the bar for dozens of women to hoard after.

Mostly, Itachi was aloof and uninterested, but it was hard for horny women not to give a handsome, mysterious ninja what they thought he wanted.

By the time Itachi somehow tipsily made it out of the pub and returned home, it was already dawn.

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Sakura had risen early as usual for her normal chores when she saw Itachi somewhat unsteadily walk into the kitchen.

"Itachi-san." Sakura looked up in surprise from preparing the morning meal. She knew from experience that Itachi rarely rose before noon when he was at home. "did you just return from your mission?"

Itachi seemed to ignore Sakura's question as he stepped closer to her, his taller figure dwarfing her own in the process. Sakura's heart beat slightly faster.

Was Itachi okay? He seemed strange…his stance more careless, his hair a little less immaculate. The string of these thoughts crossed Sakura's mind briefly as she avoided eye contact. She could feel the warmth of his body radiating off of him, and the strong scent of something sharp and overwhelming.

"Um…Itachi-san, are you…hungry?" Sakura said as she absentmindedly stirred the congee in the pot.

Itachi smirked slightly, his eyes certainly looked _hungry_—it made Sakura gulp when she glanced up for a brief moment.

Itachi gently lifted Sakura's chin upwards when he was so close to her. Their eyes met. Did Itachi's gaze seem heavier, more intense than usual, or was it just his proximity? Then out of the blue,

"Tell me Sakura, what do you want for your birthday?"

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. If she had expected Itachi to say something, it wasn't that.

Her birthday. Indeed, it was today, the 28th of March—early spring when the air was fresh and the flowers shyly bloomed—how could she have forgotten?

"Um…." She hesitated.

"A birthday kiss, perhaps?" Itachi said teasingly in drunken stupor. His brain-mouth filter may have turned off.

The expression on Sakura's face was priceless—shock in her wide, innocent eyes, then the brightest blush on her cheeks. Itachi laughed loudly, albeit a little meanly in his carelessness.

Sakura blushed in embarrassment—Itachi's carelessness made her uncomfortable—it made her feel _ashamed_ that the thought had even crossed her mind. After all, was it so _impossible_ to ask to be loved?

She was usually so thick-skinned and she was surprised by how much Itachi's words could affect her. Her eyes prickled slightly, his warm embrace now felt affected. Sakura just wanted to sink into the rice that she had been stirring in the pot.

"No, I think I will give you something _better_." Itachi said a little more seriously, seeing that he had so inadvertently hurt her. "You wanted lessons didn't you? To learn the art of combat?"

Sakura looked up at him with genuine happiness,

"Really? You would teach me?" Her voice was full of hope.

Itachi studied her for a moment—she was literally brimming with enthusiasm and talent. It was a wonder why Mikoto and Fugaku hadn't realized this and given her lessons before… He answered, "Yes. I'll teach you."

"Promise?" Sakura held out her pinky.

Itachi smiled slightly at her serious gesture as he linked her pinky in his. Then the two kissed their thumbs to seal the deal. It had always been the way to seal a promise.

"I promise."

He released her from his embrace, but then took her hand that was holding the spoon that was stirring the water and rice. Sakura's breath hitched slightly at the warmth of his firm touch.

He brought the spoon to his mouth and took a long satisfying sip.

He licked his lips before releasing her hand, and before she knew it, he had turned and walked out of the room murmuring something about needing a long nap, leaving a rather confused Sakura in his wake.

* * *

Sakura sat near the lake, looking out across the water, lost in her thoughts. Even though she had truly forgotten her birthday, all four Uchiha had not.

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Mikoto had bought her a new silk kimono the color of emerald—the delicate silver embroidery in the shape of sakura blossoms and a rising phoenix was the most beautiful thing that Sakura had ever laid her eyes upon. When she touched the material, it felt as smooth as water. She couldn't accept such a precious gift.

"You only turn ten once, my dear." Mikoto said softly with a smile that warmed Sakura's heart. "and you are my only daughter."

Sasuke had happily ruffled her hair before tossing her a small, somewhat messily wrapped package. When Sakura had opened it, it revealed a beaded necklace—though the handiwork wasn't perfect, the tiny silver colored beads that surrounded the central pink sakura blossom was beautiful.

Sakura looked at Sasuke, knowing that he had spent so much time on the necklace, and said genuinely, "its beautiful Sasuke, thank you."

Sasuke had rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably, coughed a little with a slight pinkish tint on his cheek, and in his most manly, indifferent voice said,

"I figured girls would like that sort of thing."

And even Fugaku had showed up for dinner, sitting on his usually forlorn tatami mat. His appearance was even a surprise to Mikoto, who lacking her usual laced sadness, happily served dinner for a full table.

Then there was Itachi and his present, which troubled her the most. It was so early in the morning, so random—Sakura wasn't even sure that Itachi was thinking properly.

Perhaps he was…what was the word…drunk? Sakura would sometimes see Fugaku walk unsteadily after he had too many cups of sake.

Itachi was unusually quiet at her dinner; his face looked slightly ashen and tired. Sakura had avoided his gaze mostly.

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Sakura laid on the soft long grass, staring up into the ever shifting clouds.

It certainly was a strange display by Itachi-san. His demeanor was so neat normally—what he saw, what he wanted to say, he always kept it behind a cool mask.

He had been so careless with her. He had been so _close_. Yet, his touch wasn't kind or deliberate—he didn't seem to mean anything. And he probably forgot that he was supposed to give her lessons anyway.

Sakura, who normally felt so much admiration for Itachi, for the first time felt a puff of annoyance and indignation in her chest. He probably wouldn't remember his promise.

But just as this thought crossed her mind, she felt a familiar presence loom over her.

"Itachi-san! What are you doing here?" She said as she rose from her prone position.

"I came to give you your lesson." Itachi smiled as he always did. Small dimples at the corner of his mouth that indicated mischief. "Or did you forget our promise?"

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_**End Chapter 3**_.

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	5. Chapter 5: Searching for Chakra

_**Disclaimer**_: _No, I don't own Naruto. -.- I do however own this story line and this little material that I have written._

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_**Seal **_

_**Chapter 5: **__Searching for Chakra_

_**By**__: animeanne_

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Days went on but Sakura felt like she was living a different life. When she got up in the morning, she didn't think about doing a day's work—the dishes, the laundry, the cooking. When she woke up in the morning, she had something to look forward to—a person to talk to, a new lesson to learn, something to open her eyes and her mind.

She was hanging laundry again; the fresh white sheets billowed in the wind. Her long pink hair was braided to the side, a few strands lingering on her face carelessly. When she looked up she saw the person that she was most looking forward to see strolling towards her.

"Itachi-sama!" He was earlier than usual, but looked a little sleepy-eyed—it was only a little after noon. Itachi was dressed in all black—loose but somewhat form-fitting. His hair tied back, but without the normal silver Konoha headband—it was his day off afterall. He was strong, graceful, and had the self-assured yet lazy swagger that reminded Sakura of a black panther.

Sakura jumped off the laundry wire and ran towards him.

"Aren't you the eager one today? Hmm?" Even though Itachi's face was mostly blank, Sakura did not miss the twinkle behind his ebony eyes and the slight upward tilt in his lips.

"What are you teaching me today?" Sakura could barely contain her enthusiasm.

Itachi had thought of this question yesterday night. In the past few months, Itachi had taught Sakura so much about chakra manipulation, and the girl was good at it too.

Everything from drawing chakra, aiming chakra infused kunai at difficult targets, jumping quickly from branch to branch, and even creating Kagebunshins came quickly to Sakura. She had absorbed each lesson with as much thoroughness as a hungry dog that would eat every morsel of meat.

However, on the lessons in which she would have to use strength and draw a lot of chakra, it would be more difficult for her. When she was asked to draw a larger amount of chakra into her hands to push over a tree, the tree barely trembled. When she was asked to draw the chakra into her feet to create a fissure in the cement, she barely made a crack.

This was indeed puzzling to Itachi since Sakura's technique was faultless—she could make four Bunshins without wasting any chakra was enough proof of that—yet she was unable to draw the appropriate amount of chakra. One time, Itachi had asked her to draw as much as she could to her hands, and before he knew it, she had fainted from chakra depletion. Itachi proceeded to have a small panic attack as he revived Sakura's health.

Even for a girl her size and age, Sakura had an unusually small chakra reserve. It was either that Sakura was a late bloomer and her chakra reserve would become larger as she aged, Itachi thought, or that something was suppressing or eating up her chakra. As Itachi saw through his sharingan no problems with her chakra highway aside from the obvious lack of chakra, the case was most likely the former.

And one way to stimulate chakra reserve growth was to use jutsu that required a larger amount of chakra. Though Itachi wasn't quite keen on seeing a fainting Sakura again, it was the only way. He knew too well from a shinobi stand point that no pain meant no gain.

Which brought them to today.

"I'm going to be on a mission for the next week or so, so I'll be teaching you something a little harder, so you can perfect it while I'm gone. I'll be teaching you an elemental jutsu today."

"oooOOOooo. That sounds cool!" Sakura's eyes brightened at the challenge.

"But first we have to see what elemental chakra you can draw." Itachi proceeded to pull out two blank cards from his pocket. "you see, this is paper made from chakra grown trees, the slightest bit of chakra will set this card into a reaction. All you have to do is draw a small amount of chakra into the card and if you're a fire elemental like me, it will burst into flame, for lightning chakra, the card will rumple, wind, it splits cleanly into two pieces, water, it becomes wet, and for earth, the paper crumbles into dust."

Itachi took out one card, infused it with some chakra, and the card instantly burst into hot flame. He handed Sakura the other card and said,

"Now you try."

Sakura took the card cautiously, and infused the paper with a little bit of her chakra. She held her breath nervously. At first nothing happened, and Sakura thought she had done something wrong. In the next instant however, it also burst into flame just like Itachi's had.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. Uchihas were _always_ fire based elementals. In fact, one of the rituals in the Uchiha clan was that those who could complete the Great Fire Ball jutsu could finally be considered a man. Obviously Sakura never really desired to be considered a person of the opposite gender, but not being a fire elemental would have emphasized the constant thought in the back of Sakura's mind that she was not really an Uchiha nor would she ever be one.

Itachi smiled when he saw the sudden relief on Sakura's face, and he ruffled her hair, "Fire it is." He continued, "Now, elemental jutsu always require a little more chakra than most…" Sakura's expression drooped a bit at that. "You are probably familiar with this first jutsu that I am going to teach you, the Great Fireball Jutsu."

Sakura nodded eagerly.

"Remember those hand seals that I taught you? This jutsu requires you to use the Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger seals in succession." Itachi said as he demonstrated with his hands. Sakura stared intently as she memorized the different seals.

"So it's Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse…Tiger?" Sakura said as she repeated the hand seals. Itachi nodded, thinking how fast Sakura caught on. She certainly was a fast learner.

"Right. Just like that, now after you form those seals, you take a deep breath through your mouth, and infuse that breath with as much fire chakra as you can, and blow outwards. Pretty simple right?"

Sakura looked at Itachi sheepishly, "but how much fire chakra will I need?"

"Well, that depends on how far you want your flame to go. Here let me show you." The pair walked to the small lake at the center of the Uchiha complex. Itachi formed the seals, inhaled a breath, and blew it out over the water. The flame stretched across half the lake before flickering out, leaving a fine mist above the water, and several fish popping up nervously.

Sakura gaped at the huge flame that had ignited. Itachi had made it seem so terribly effortless too. Itachi had to smile slightly at Sakura's nervousness—she could be such a perfectionist sometimes.

"Now you try. This time when you do it, don't infuse too much chakra. This is just to make sure you have the technique down first. And you know that it _is_ okay to not get it the first time right?" Itachi asked playfully.

"right…" Sakura muttered as she took a deep breath and exhaled. She formed the seals with her hands, then took a breath before blowing outward. The flame that she created was barely enough to light a cigar, but her technique was pristine.

Itachi ruffled Sakura's hair as he said, "that was great Sakura. Okay, now this time, try to summon as much fire chakra in one breath as you can."

Sakura repeated the process only this time as she took a breath she tried to summon as much fire chakra as she possibly could. It was hard, it was almost as if something was suctioning her chakra so she couldn't even reach it, like she was playing tug-o-war with some sort of inner force. Nevertheless, she pulled as much as possible from her chakra reserve and blew the fire chakra outward. The flame was only slightly larger than her last attempt, about an arms length in radius. Sakura felt deflated; she hated disappointing Itachi.

Even though Sakura looked slightly disappointed with herself, Itachi was surprised. This was the largest amount of chakra Sakura had drawn altogether, and she hadn't fainted. She was getting better, fast!

"That was great Sakura. A little more work and you should have this jutsu down."

Sakura blushed with pleasure—she was feeling a little lightheaded, and her knees were a bit wobbly.

"Thanks, oni-sama…." She trailed off. Sakura tipped forward ever so slightly—she suddenly felt light and a little woozy. Black dots swam into her vision, then slowly overwhelmed it. She took only one more step before losing all consciousness.

Itachi caught her before she could fall. Quickly, he checked her pulse and through his omniscient eyes, saw that her chakra reserve was dangerously low. Maybe he was pushing her too hard.

* * *

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_Where am I? Why am I here? Sakura stood in the pitch blackness. The black was so overwhelming, it muffled her, it consumed her. _

"_**Come here, my dearrr" **__A feline voice practically purred in the distance_

"_Who are you?" Sakura's voice was smaller than she remembered. A deep cackle echoed through the darkness._

"_That's for you to find out isn't it? Come closer…." _

"_Closer?" Sakura spun around, "To where?" _

"_Hereeee…" A sudden flash of blinding light tore through the darkness. Once Sakura's eyes adjusted to the light, she could make out large metal bars that stretched upwards even beyond her vision and a large lock with a strange eight-pronged seal on it. She'd seen birdcages, but whatever was behind these metal bars must be bigger than big. _

"_It took you long enough to get here, honey." Its voice was deep yet undeniably feminine. The sound was something between a hiss and a purr—danger and seduction. _

"_Where is here, exactly?" Sakura looked around, wherever she looked everything seemed absorbed into darkness. When she looked left, the metal bars continued on until it faded into darkness. The same happened when she looked right and upward. The bars seemed to continue on for so long, Sakura wasn't even sure if the bars were keeping something out, or keeping her locked in. _

_A cackle then,_

"_You can't even recognize a part of yourself? Ha, you humans are all the same—you reach so far, but never look into yourselves." _

_The condescending tone didn't sit too well with Sakura. She was supposed to be resting, not arguing about nothing with some subconscious invisible creature in the middle of the night. _

"_Well I'd rather be reaching too far, out there, than sitting in a cage all day. Who are you anyway? Sitting in here telling me what to do?" _

"_WHAT! AHAHHAHA. YOU BRAT! DO YOU NOT KNOW WHO I AM?" The voice boomed. "WHY IF IT WEREN'T FOR THESE METAL BARS, I WOULD HAVE CRUSHED YOU WITH MY PINKY TOE BY NOW. AND YOU DARE ASK ME WHO I AM?"_

_The metal bars trembled slightly, and Sakura could see the monster's multiple tails swishing dangerously. For a brief moment of doubt and fear, Sakura thought she was going to be devoured by the beast behind it. A few tremors later, the shaking subsided, and Sakura breathed relief, her confidence was back. No matter how angry the monster behind the bars was, there was no way for it to get out. _

"_Well, aren't you going to introduce yourself then?"_

"_HMPH. I have no interest in a little girl like you." _

"_Well, if you are living inside me, like you said, I'd like to know how you ended up in here." _

"_Why don't you ask your god-awful parents? They're the ones who sealed me up in here behind these metal bars with nothing to do but watch your pathetic attempts at flame-throwing." _

_Sakura's ears perked up. "you know my parents? Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha?" _

"_Not them. They're Uchiha, and you certainly are no Uchiha. Besides Uchiha gives me the shivers, especially that old Madara Uchiha and his devil eyes. You're a Haruno. Those damn bastards that locked me up." Her voice had a dangerous disdain to it._

_Sakura frowned, "You know my birth parents?" _

"_Certainly I do, I'd like nothing less than tearing each of them limb from limb." _

"_Well, you can't do that, they're already long dead." _

"_Then you'll have to do, once I get out of this cage."_

"_too bad you won't." Sakura said as she stuck her tongue out at it. _

"_OH YOU BRAT! I'LL GET YOU. LEMME SHOW YOU HOW REAL FLAME THROWING IS DONE." _

_The cage shook with its anger, and Sakura could feel the temperature rise a little. There was a whoosh of wind, and an unfurling flame that rushed through the metal bars. Black flames that incinerated everything around Sakura and even herself…a dark laugh echoed as she screamed out…_

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"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Sakura woke from her dream in cold sweat—it had felt so real, she could still feel the black flames burning into her skin. She shivered.

"Sakura, are you quite alright?" Mikoto looked worried. She was sitting in the chair next to Sakura's bed.

Sakura sat upright in her bed, she tried to recall the details of her dream but couldn't remember everything. "There was this monster—behind these huge bars—black flames—it spoke about my parents…"

Mikoto's eyes widened. Normally, these details would seem like any other child's nightmare, but Mikoto could sense something was off about it. A monster behind bars, black flames?

Could it be that something had awoken the eight-tailed beast inside of Sakura? But how could that be? The seal should have blocked off all access to the monster. The only way of awakening it was through the chakra channels, but Mikoto had been so careful to never expose Sakura to using chakra. It had been painful for her to tell Sakura that she could not learn the arts like Sasuke or Itachi. She was probably worrying too much.

"darling, I'm sure it was nothing. It's just a dream, don't worry yourself over it. You missed dinner, dear. Itachi carried you in, saying that you fainted from the heat outside. Seems a bit unusual since it's been hotter than this outside…but you are definitely too thin for a girl your age…Your brother was so worried about you, you know, but he had to leave for his mission tonight." Mikoto said absentmindedly as the stirred a bowl of soup on the nightstand.

Sakura felt a tinge of guilt yet gratefulness as she heard that Itachi had helped cover up for her lie. She didn't want to think about what Mikoto would say or her shock if she knew the truth that she had been practicing a ninjutsu.

She wasn't so sure that it had just been a dream, but felt a little more comforted at Mikoto's soothing words as she sipped the hot, delicious soup.

* * *

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Itachi never saw anything in black or white.

He had learned over the years as one of the strongest ninja (if not the strongest) that there was no good or bad, only the inbetween. He did what was necessary for his survival, and in his own life, that meant killing.

He didn't enjoy it; the warm blood on his fingers that wasn't his own, the contorted faces of fear and resignation before death, the leftover bodies—cases devoid of the soul—to him, it was all just bad form.

It was not a glamorous job. Unlike books with ninjas, heroes, good and evil that Itachi had read when he was younger, he found there was no glory in killing. Absolutely none—anyone who glorified killing in their books, Itachi could bet his life and his next life that that person never killed anything in their lives.

He was born into it—he was talented at it. If Itachi had perhaps been able to choose his destiny, in a different time, in a different setting, he thought he probably would have enjoyed playing go or poker or even shogi all day, and having a nice warm home to return to.

Unfortunately he didn't get a choice in his own fate—he was what he was. He did what he needed to do, for his family, for his country, wherever his loyalty laid.

The face of his opponent was middle aged, male, sandy hair, once handsome perhaps in some sense or another. It was only a little after dusk. He probably had kids to go back to, probably a pretty wife too waiting for him to come back for dinner—a dinner that he would miss, and the ones after that too. His family would be waiting for an agonizing eternity for his return.

There were fine lines around his face, and a few battle scars that indicated a hard life, but he was still young, he had vitality, he had had something to live for. What made him any less worthy of living than me, Itachi thought as he looked at the broken body—the body that Itachi had beaten the life out of only moments before. If they hadn't been made enemies, Itachi could imagine them as friends intensely sparring in practice, giving each other their all. If they hadn't been made enemies, they might have been acquaintances that shared a drink or two in a bar, or a game of go in a salon.

The forest was eerily quiet again. Itachi's two teammates had sighed in relief. The mission was successful. It was all for the peace of their nation. The S-class criminal had given a tough, tough fight. If it wasn't him, it would have been them, lying there like lifeless dolls.

Itachi took the man's headband—proof of the mission's success. He took no other items before he dug out a hole in the ground, and made another anonymous grave.

No, it wasn't the first time he had buried a man. There were many others, many other missions like these—when Itachi killed, and never completely understood why. It was for the peace of Konoha, the peace of the union.

It was habit that Itachi Uchiha never forgot a face; this was just another anonymous face that would be forever ingrained in his memory. He lingered for a moment at the grave before standing up and spoke to his teammates,

"Let's pack up, and leave. What's done is done."

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"Yo Itachi! Back from your mission already?" Shisui said jokingly as he patted the Itachi on the back. "That took shorter than it should have. But how can we expect less from the great Itachi Uchiha? It probably takes you less time killing an S-class criminal than it does for me to take a shit!"

Itachi smiled slightly and retorted,

"That's only if you're reading Icha Icha Paradise while taking it."

"And when do I _not_ read Icha Icha?"

"Point taken."

The two best friends laughed together.

"The Third wants to see you in his office, by the way. Some sort of secret mission to give you. Those hags up there never seem to give you a rest, do they?"

Itachi groaned slightly. He had hoped that he wouldn't get one for at least another four weeks. He replied,

"I'll drop by later."

"That is a terrible idea, Uchiha Itachi. What an utter lack of responsibility you have! You are an absolute outrage to the Uchiha clan! What would Fugaku say? I'm sure he would flip a shit with that infamous I-have-a-huge-stick-up-my-ass expression." Shisui scolded mockingly.

Itachi smiled wryly, "the damn mission can wait a few days at least."

"Aye aye, Captain. Let's celebrate with a round of drinks, shall we?" Shisui said as the two headed toward the nearest pub.

* * *

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Over the last few days, Sakura had worked hard on perfecting the elemental jutsu that Itachi had taught her. She was careful not to use too much chakra as she didn't want to faint mysteriously again and have Mikoto worrying about what she was up to.

She had tried and tried, and tried yet again. But no matter how hard she did it, there was simply not enough chakra for her to infuse. She still couldn't create a flame any larger than the radius of her arm.

She thought back to when she had seen Itachi so effortlessly blow the flame halfway across the lake—which was a distance that was one hundred times the distance she had now. Since she was about half the size as Itachi, she estimated that she needed to use at an amount of chakra that was fifty times what she could pull out now!

The thought just made her frustrated and gave her the temptation to pull out her hair.

Not to mention the dreams she had been having lately, leaving her so tired when she woke up. It was the same as the first dream when that monster had talked to her, but each succeeding dream became more and more vivid.

Man, was that monster talkative—telling her about the old days when the war happened or whatever. And Sakura was not so keen on listening to this history lecture as all she wanted was to be left alone so she could finally get some sleep! Sakura found that she could only remember small details about the monster—it had a beak, flashing eyes, and a total of eight tails. It had a short temper too, whenever it was angry, it would blow those flames at her, instantly waking Sakura in sweat. She managed to not scream out now—as real as the feeling of being burnt was, since these dreams had become a regular occurrence.

And to make things worse, Sakura was beginning to think she was going crazy. Were these dreams real? Did she really have a short-fused, eight tailed monster inside her? That was ludicrous! What was happening to her? She wanted answers, and she wasn't getting them. She wasn't getting sleep either, further exacerbating her grumpiness.

Sakura lied in the grass and looked up into the fluffy clouds in frustration. The gentle breeze made her flutter her eyes shut. Just a little nap…

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"_Back so soon, dear?" The voice purred. If Sakura had not known any better, she would have thought the voice sounded kind even. _

"_Oh. Its you again."_

_The creature laughed menacingly. "Not so happy to see me eh? So why don't you just let me OUT." _

"_Well, I don't plan on letting you live here forever, you know—without getting anything back especially." Sakura drawled._

"_AREN'T YOU JUST THE MOST SELFISH BRAT I'VE EVER MET. TELLING ME WHAT TO DO. PUSHING ME, OF ALL CREATURES AROUND. YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL THAT I HAVEN'T RIPPED YOUR HEAD OFF YET, GIRL."_

_Sakura could feel its anger rising again. _

"_Wait! I have a proposition for you." _

"_Ha. A proposition for me?" the beast growled at Sakura's insolence. The beast was not about to let a little girl get some semblance of the upper hand. Yet…it was just a little bit curious. "Well. Let's hear it then." _

_Sakura smiled. "Well, how bout letting me borrow a little of your chakra. You are made of chakra aren't you?"_

"_What else would I be made of, girl?" the eight-tail practically snarled. "Certainly not the temporary immaterial trash that you're made of." _

_Sakura silently took the insult. She knew when to be silent when she didn't want to escalate its anger further. _

"_And just what will you do using this chakra that I may hypothetically give you?" _

"_Maybe some of the real flame throwing that you can teach me to do." _

"_HMPH. That's just child-play. And I am certainly not a child." _

_Sakura muttered, "you certainly can be mistaken for one, that's for sure." _

"_WHAT WAS THAT, BRAT?" _

_Sakura quickly retorted with an innocent smile. "nothing…nothing…" She was disappointed. The monster had almost seemed interested. Sakura stared at the bars, and the paper and ink seal on the lock. An idea struck her—she smirked. _

"_You know, it seems a bit unfair…" Sakura trailed off._

_It took the bait, "What does, brat?" _

"_Oh, just that you are almighty and powerful…and it just seems a bit unfair that this measly little piece of paper is the only thing that's preventing you from your precious freedom…" Sakura said, fingering the paper seal lightly. _

_The monster snarled. "DAMN RIGHT IT'S A LITTLE UNFAIR. IF YOUR FUCKING PARENTS GAVE ME A FAIR FIGHT—"_

_Sakura raised her voice slightly—didn't want the monster to get off topic. She knew how it could throw a rather ugly tantrum. _

"_But well, technically, it would be easy for me to just…peel it off don't you think?"_

_Sakura fingered the seal again deliberately. She could feel IT brewing, suspicious yet curious as if weighing her words carefully on a scale. Sakura knew she had caught its interest. She continued, _

"_that is, if I was willing to do it…don't you agree?"_

_Its eyes narrowed—it was angry, yet didn't seem to reject the idea entirely. _

"_ALRIGHT BRAT, JUST SPIT IT OUT. I'M LISTENING." _

_Sakura smiled genuinely now, "How about I FREE you?"_

_The temperature rose a few degrees, but Sakura knew it wasn't from its anger—it was from its joy. Recently Sakura had become more and more in tuned with the monster's emotions._

"_WHAT'S THE CATCH, MY DEAR?" It spat uncooperatively._

_Sakura grinned widely, "It's not much of a catch actually…You let me borrow your chakra until I equal or surpass your powers, and upon your release you never set a foot on human land or kill a single human for all eternity."_

"_AHAHHAHAHAHAH. SURPASS ME? That's never gonna happen." It deadpanned. "A human like you simply cannot surpass a jinchuuriki. It's just unheard of."_

_Sakura hesitated, then "Well. There's always a first in everything. Besides, this could work well for you, you know. The faster you make me stronger, the faster you get your freedom." _

_A deafening silence filled the nothingness. It was thinking. _

"_And how do I know that you'll keep your side of the bargain?" It asked suspiciously. _

"_The more pressing question is whether you would keep your word, but that does pose a problem…" Sakura bit her lip. She had been thinking about this part—how to keep the monster from breaking its promise? She recalled Itachi making a promise to Sasuke once. They had both cut their finger then linked their blood together using a blood seal—it would be unbreakable until the promise was fulfilled. Would that work?_

_Sakura hesitated before responding, "What about a blood seal?" _

_The creature sounded deflated, "If you hadn't noticed, I'm made of chakra—" Its eyes widened slightly with…excitement. "We can do a CHAKRA seal—it works in about the same way." _

_Sakura felt its excitement spread to her. "Then let's do it! What happens if you break the promise?" she asked curiously._

"_Your chakra implodes and you die a deservedly painful death that feels like a million needles have been stuck into you like a voo doo doll." It snickered joyfully. _

"_sounds good to me, as I'm certainly not going to break the promise." Sakura responded with a smile. _

"_Alright then, all previously conditions apply. Gimme your hand girl." _

"_Oh, last condition: you can't harm me during the process." Sakura smirked as she held out her slender hand through the cage. _

_The creature fumed slightly but didn't complain. Its claw reached out to Sakura, still and waiting like an impending thunderstorm. Sakura infused her fingers with her own chakra. _

_Then it hit her like lightning, infusing with her outstretched hand. She gasped at the shock, the burning sensation spreading throughout her body until she lost conscience…or gained it… _

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Sakura woke up in cold sweat in the same spot in the long grass. Her hand was shaking which a queer kind of heat—perhaps it was so hot that it felt cold, or so cold that it felt hot. Either way, it disoriented her thoroughly. Yet, for the first time, there was no doubt in her mind that the gruesome creature inside her was very, very real.

Surprisingly, it wasn't only fear that she felt in her heart, but _excitement_.

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AN: Thank you so much for your support! The next chapter is about 1/3 done, hopefully will be out in the next week or so. Please review because it honestly gives me incredible motivation to continue writing! :D


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